Yesterday, Brian and I ran our second official race in Colorado (the first was the Neon Dash!) and our first race of 2015–the Bolder Boulder 10k.

Believe it our not, I first heard about this race while living in Indiana from the other members of my running group.  I guess that shows how popular and awesome the race is!

Because I had heard so many amazing things about this race and I truly enjoy training for races and running with Brian we HAD to sign up.  I had honestly been looking forward to experiencing this race since last summer!

Race Day Details

There were over 50,000 people expected to run this race, so Brian and I were a little bit nervous about being able to find parking and other logistics of the day.  While our wave start time wasn’t until 7:20am, we left Denver at 5:15am to arrive in Boulder just before 6am.

To make things a bit easier in the morning, we made sure to lay out our clothing the night before 🙂

The weather was predicted to be in the 40s-50s so we wore our race T-shirts under long-sleeve pullovers with shorts.  The outfit choice was perfect!! We were both comfortable, just a little chilly at the beginning but we never felt overheated.

We decided to attempt to park at the 29th Street Mall in Boulder which was pretty close to both the start and the finish line, and we were both shocked that we were easily able to find a parking spot for FREE!

We were also able to use the bathrooms at Peet’s Coffe & Tea!  Thank goodness for real toilettes 🙂

The Race

The Bolder Boulder is known for it’s casual, FUN, and laid back atmosphere.  Because Brian and I decided to run and finish the race together I knew that I wasn’t going to get my best racing time, but I was OK with that.  I knew there would be a lot to see, observe and enjoy!

I LOVED running through so many neighborhoods!  For starters, the homes were adorable and absolutely gorgeous.  The next thing I loved was the involvement of the spectators.  I have NEVER seen a crowd SO into the race before.  People would sit on their lawns, operate slip n slides, play music, drink coffee, hold up signs, cheer, and pass out fun goodies like doritos, beer, cupcakes, and bacon! HA!  While I didn’t enjoy any fun Boulder goodies, it was still fun to see 🙂

The race really went by fast for me!  In addition to the amazing spectators, there were several bands and organized groups along the route providing entertainment as well.  I did not run with an iPod so that I could truly experience the race and I was so thankful that I made that choice.  I didn’t miss the iPod one bit!

Another thing I was very impressed with was the wave start.  This allowed enough time and space between racing groups so I NEVER felt claustrophobic, tons of congestion, or like I was dodging/jumping over other racers to stay consistent with my pace.  Brian and I were smooth sailing and had plenty of room to do our thang.

The race finishes up in the stadium of University of Colorado, which was a really great finale to such a fun race.  There was ton of energy pumping from the crowd as everyone raced (literally) toward the finish 🙂

The Post-Race Expo

After Brian and I crossed the finish line hand in hand, we headed to the snack bag area!  There we picked up really nice drawstring backpacks filled with snacks.  Brian picked up his complimentary beer and sipped it as we headed into the expo portion of the race.

This was one of the best race expos I have ever seen!  Lots of free food (bacon, evol burritos, Marley Coffee, Boulder Canyon kettle chips, Nuun hydration, and others), lots of fun racing gear like sunglasses, shoes, and clothing, and lots of happy, Boulder enthusiasm.  Despite being a HUGE crowd of people everyone seemed to be in good spirits.

After walking around the expo for a while, Brian and I headed back to the car.  We had no issues exiting the parking lot and were back in Denver around 10:30am.  I still can’t believe how EASY it was to navigate through this HUGE race.

To Sum Things Up:

• If coming from out of town, arrive in Boulder just before 6am and try to park in the 29th Street Mall.  It’s free and restaurants let you use their bathrooms!
• The wave start really helped to decrease race congestion in such a busy race.  I never felt like I was tripping over other racers.
• The expo has a ton of food and fun racing gear + lots of free samples to check out.
• Overall this was a very organized and super FUN race.  Definitely a race Brian and I will do again!! 🙂

Questions of the Morning:

• What is your favorite race distance? I love the half marathon distance because it is such a challenge, but I LOVE training for/running the 6 mile distance with Brian (he won’t do a half marathon…yet!)
• Have you ever run the Bolder Boulder?